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HWA Racelab
2018 Ad Diriyah E-Prix | founder = Hans Werner Aufrecht (1998) | keypeps = Ulrich Fritz (C.E.O) and Thomaz Aufrecht | drivers = Stoffel Vandoorne Gary Paffett | car = Venturi VFE 05 | sponsor = | web = HWA AG | previouseasonresult = 9th (2018/19) | firstwin = | entryname = HWA Racelab | team = HWA Racelab}} HWA AG, otherwise known competitively as HWA Racelab, is a German engineering firm and racing team, based in Affalterbach, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.'HIGH-PERFORMANCE COMPANY HWA AG', hwaag.com, (HWA AG, 2018), http://www.hwaag.com/en/company-en.html, (Accessed 24/05/2018) Named for its founder Hans Werner Aufrecht, HWA entered the ABB FIA Formula E Championship in 2018/19, using powertrains manufactured by Venturi. Running Gary Paffett and Stoffel Vandoorne as their drivers, HWA entered FE at the behest of long-term partners Mercedes-Benz, although it proved to be a campaign beset by mechanical issues.'Paffett to drive for HWA Racelab', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 08/10/2018), http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2018/october/paffett-to-drive-for-hwa-racelab/, (Accessed 08/10/2018) At the end of the 2018/19 season their entry was officially transferred to the new Mercedes-Benz EQ Formula E Team for the 2019/20 campaign, although HWA would operate the new team's day-to-day operations.'Mercedes EQ Formula E Team gear up for Formula E fight', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E 17/05/2018), http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2018/may/mercedes-eq-formula-e-team-gear-up-for-formula-e-fight/, (Accessed 17/05/2018) In July 2019 HWA announced that they would be entering the Extreme E Championship, becoming one of three founding teams for the electric off-road series.Sam Smith, 'HWA Commits to Extreme E', e-racing365.com, (John Dagys Media, LLC., 12/07/2019), https://e-racing365.com/off-road/extreme-e/hwa-commit-to-extreme-e/, (Accessed 12/07/2019) Background HWA's history can be traced back beyond its foundation, for its founder Hans Werner Aufrecht, in partnership with Erhard Melcher, had a history of building engines as early as 1967. Those two, together, would create AMG Motorenbau und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH ('A'ufrecht 'M'elcher 'G'roßaspach), which specialised in the tuning Mercedes engines for racing. AMG's success would ultimately draw the attention of Mercedes' owners Daimler AG, which bought a controlling share of the engine and tuning side of the company on 1 January 1999. HWA Heroics Aufrecht would retain ownership of most of the racing team, and duly founded HWA AG on 30 October 1998 as a means to continue his desire to go racing. HWA would retain AMG's close ties to Mercedes, however, with Aufrecht's firm duly winning a contract to run Mercedes cars in the revived DTM in 2000. It was incredibly successful period for HWA, with themselves and Mercedes claiming five of the first six DTM titles between 2000 and 2006.'MILESTONES', hwaag.com, (HWA AG, 2018), http://www.hwaag.com/en/company-en/meilensteine-hwa-ag-en.html, (Accessed 24/05/2018) Because of that success, HWA would become the de facto factory team of Mercedes in a variety of series, building race engines for Formula 3 and race cars for V8 Supercars. The German firm were then commissioned to run Mercedes new sportscar campaign with the SLS and Mercedes-AMG GT3s, culminating in a clean sweep of the podium in the 2016 Nürburgring 24 Hours. Indeed, the only significant Mercedes project that HWA would not be involved in was Mercedes' Formula One return in 2010, which was instead developed "in-house" by AMG. Formula E History When Mercedes announced their intentions to join the FIA Formula E Championship at the 2017 Montreal ePrix, rumours emerged that HWA would launch their own FE programme.'Mercedes-Benz to enter Formula E in Season 6', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 24/07/2017), http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2017/july/mercedes-benz-to-enter-formula-e-in-season-6/, (Accessed 25/07/2017) This was, in-part, due to the revelation that Mercedes would be withdrawing factory support for the DTM at the end of 2018, meaning HWA were effectively set to be without a backer in that series in 2019. As a result, HWA began to seriously consider a move in FE, sending engineers and personnel to work with the Venturi Formula E Team during the 2017/18, with a view to start in the series in 2018/19.'Venturi announce partnership with HWA AG', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 30/11/2017), http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2017/november/venturi-announce-partnership-with-hwa-ag/, (Accessed 24/05/2018) Venturi Vanguard After shadowing Venturi through the 2017/18 season HWA would indeed decide to make a move into FE for 2018/19, announcing at the 2018 Berlin E-Prix that they would use a customer Venturi powertrain for their debut season.'HWA AG join the Formula E grid for Season 5', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 09/05/2018), http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2018/may/hwa-ag-join-the-formula-e-grid-for-season-5/, (Accessed 09/05/2018) HWA were offered several of Venturi's development test days in order to prepare for the 2018/19 season, hiring Mercedes factory driver Gary Paffett to spearhead their team. The new squad would later capture the signature of Formula One refugee Stoffel Vandoorne ahead of the 2018 Valencia Test. It would be a difficult start for the new squad, however, recording four retirements at the opening three rounds, while failing to score at all in any of them.'Madness in Mexico sees di Grassi clinch miraculous win in epic photo finish', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 16/02/2019), https://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2019/february/race-report-mexico-2019, (Accessed 17/02/2019) However, the 2019 Mexico City Test proved to be crucial for the team, for after a strong run HWA scored their first points of the season at the 2019 Hong Kong E-Prix, while Vandoorne claimed their maiden pole position.'Bird victorious in furious battle for first on Hong Kong Harbourfront', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 10/03/2019), https://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2019/march/race-report-hong-kong-2019, (Accessed 11/03/2019) A double non-score followed before Vandoorne starred again in Rome, securing the team's first podium finish in a chaotic race. Vandoorne would subsequently become a regular point scorer, only failing to score at the Paris and the first New York City E-Prix. Paffett, meanwhile, would only muster two points finishes, a mix of misfortune and lack of qualifying pace the Brit's ultimate downfall. Come the end of the season HWA found themselves in ninth in the Championship with 44 points, ahead of established FE teams GEOX DRAGON and NIO. Mercedes Motivators At the end of the 2018/19 season HWA's entry was officially taken over by the new Mercedes-Benz EQ Formula E Team, although HWA would effectively remain on the grid, running the new squad's day-to-day and trackside operations. Formula E Record The tables below show 's full record in the FIA Formula E Championship. Formula E Entries The table below given and overview of 's entries in Formula E: Career Results Listed below are the full career results of : |-style="background-color:#E8E8E8;" !rowspan=3|2018/19 | ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !rowspan=3|9th !rowspan=3|44 |- style="background-color:#E4E4E4;" | style="text-align:center;"|Vandoorne |16th | | |18th | | | | | | | |13th | |- style="background-color:#E4E4E4;" | style="text-align:center;"|Paffett | | |14th |16th | | | | |12th |16th |17th |11th | |} References Videos and Images: * @hwaag_official, '.@svandoorne will be making his Formula E debut in the 2018/19 ABB @FIAFormulaE Championship as a member of the HWA RACELAB squad.', twitter.com, (Twitter: HWA AG Official, 15/10/2018), https://twitter.com/hwaag_official/status/1051747797681299456, (Accessed 15/10/2018) References: Category:Teams Category:Current Teams